Lawrence North hit their first 3 shots to take a 9-0 lead against the Giants and held on late to win 67-59 Friday night at the Bill Green Athletic Arena. Marion struggled early against a tough Wildcat defense as Sophomore Sensation Jalen Blackmon was held scoreless for the first 12 minutes but the Giants were only down 26-20 at the half.

Jack Keefer’s Wildcats came out strong in the second half and stretched the lead to 45-24 in the final minutes of the third quarter but the Giants didn’t quit and kept battling back. Blackmon got on track with 11 third quarter points and Marion trailed 48-33 heading into the fourth.

The Giants continued their pressure defense against Lawrence North in the final quarter forcing the Wildcats to turn the ball over on numerous plays and Marion moved to within seven with four minutes to play. Both teams kept up their intense defense and with Blackmon’s second half hot hand the Giants pulled to within 63-59 with 34 seconds to play. Lawrence North was able to hang on in the final moments to preserve the victory.

The 1-1 Giants were led by Jalen Blackmon’s career high 34 points, 28 in the second half and RaSheed Jones who scored 10. Dre Aguilar had 6, Brendon Martin scored 4, D’Angelo Jones added 3 and Qu’Ran Howard finished with 2. Marion will host Homestead on Saturday night at the Bill Green Arena.

The Marion Giant JV team won 49-39 led by Matthew Goolsby with 14 pts. #GFND